 Hey Psych2Goers, thank you so much for your ongoing love and support. Psych2Go's aim is to make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone, and you've helped us so much along the way. Now, let's begin. What is self-esteem? While self-esteem is the personal opinion you have of yourself, feelings of low self-esteem can affect how you choose to view others, your own physical health, and the perception you hold of yourself. Just a reminder, this video is made for informative purposes only. Any medical and psychological advice should be provided by a licensed professional. With that said, here are 8 signs that you may have low self-esteem. 1. Sense of self-doubt You always find yourself over-analyzing your own actions. Are you highly critical of yourself? Perhaps you decide to skip auditions for the play because you don't think you'll take the cut. Or maybe the only thing stopping you from asking out your crush is your burdening feelings of inadequacy. Feeling down on yourself is a huge sign of having low self-esteem, and it can hold you back from living your life to the fullest. 2. You're overly apologetic Was there a situation that you had no control over and yet you still apologized to everyone like you did something wrong? Feeling for situations you have no control over is one issue, but you might also be saying sorry to avoid conflict, even when you don't agree with the other person's actions. It's important to think about what you're apologizing for, and if it's necessary to do so. 3. You put the blame elsewhere On the contrary, you put the blame on others. You fear taking responsibility for your own failures. This can be because you have a habit of naming blame elsewhere, so the finger doesn't have to be pointed at you. This manifests as an inability to accept responsibility when you're with others and in certain situations and circumstances. 4. You have bad posture You find yourself slouching over and rolling your shoulders inward instead of sitting up straight most of the time. Your body language says a lot about you and how you feel about yourself. One can indicate that you don't care much for what others think of you and indicates ill confidence in yourself. That posture can also lead to physical problems such as headaches, jaw pain, back pain and shoulder pain. This incites muscle pain and fatigue in these areas of your body, which limits your range of motion and ability to function. 5. You've developed bad habits You find yourself picking at your skin, biting your nails or twirling your hair, especially when you're in a social setting. Are you doing these things without even having to think about it? These so-called bad habits could have developed as ways of coping with your anxiety over having low self-esteem. While they may be self-soothing for a time, doing them in excess can cause damage to your skin, nails and hair. 6. You downplay your achievements When you have low self-esteem, it affects your self-worth and sense of value. You may feel that your achievements are a minuscule and choose to downplay those achievements in front of others. You might dismiss compliments and feel unworthy of praise for all of your hard work. You may feel that you are inferior to others, despite what you've accomplished. 7. You have a negative self-image Do you tend to look down on yourself? Do you think you're not pretty or not handsome? Do you get bombarded with thoughts that you're unattractive or unintelligent? You might feel that you're somehow inferior to others because you think you can't measure up. These thoughts can be intrusive and illogical. They can hurt the perception you have of yourself. 8. You strive for perfectionism You think that your work needs to be perfect in order to feel competent? Similar to holding onto a negative self-image and downplaying your achievements, you might use perfectionism as a way to feel accomplished. However, you may find that you give up early or avoid starting projects altogether due to a deep fear of failure. You may scrutinize anything that you do that falls short of perfection in your mind. So, what's your take on having low self-esteem? What are some traits that you've noticed? Let us know in the comments below. And if you relate to this video, just know that you're not alone. Everyone goes through periods of self-doubt and insecurity. But if you found this video helpful, don't forget to give us a thumbs up and hit the subscribe button for more Psych2Go content. The references and studies are added in the description below. Thanks for watching and we'll see you in our next video.